Bloghop April 2018

I know, I know. I’ve been unduly “lazy”. The next bloghop is due, and I haven’t posted ANYTHING in between. My excuse? My life exploded mid 2017. I’ve been trying hard to keep everything together but couldn’t prevent some major issues that needed solving. And then, my husband had to go to a rehab hospital for eight weeks (which means diminished pay) and my father’s breast cancer reared its ugly head again, and my writing time flew out of the window (figuratively).

As a final straw, the EU has decided on a new data protection law — in general a very good and much needed one, but the problem is that they want everything documented. It’s a huge amount of work for me since I am running (or help running) nine sites (of those only 2 can be deleted). For me, that means I’ll be busy until May 25th to get this site (and all the others) compliant with the law so you can be absolutely sure that neither I now anyone I employ (even as a third party plugin or some such) will mess with your personal data. For you, it means the number of publications will diminish a little since I have even less writing time right now.

Still, I managed a piece for the Bloghop. I hope you’ll enjoy the story.

A Snow White Morning

As she left the village behind, the houses huddled together like chicken surrounded by foxes, Nancy breathed the icy air with delight. It tasted of snow – a lot of it, which was confirmed by the mass of dark clouds hanging over the wide valley that connected two mountains high enough to kiss the sky.

Just like Nick and me, she thought. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her mouth mirroring the wind that pulled at her simple woolen coat. She let it drop to the ground and enjoyed the North wind’s caress on the pale skin of her naked arms. How she’d missed walking in a light shift on a day like this. Had she really been so besotted with Nick that she’d forgot her first love? Well, her swollen belly answered that question without a doubt.

Kicking off her shoes, she gasped as the soles of her feet touched the needle-like spikes of last year’s grass, frozen by the wind’s breath. Like a sleepwalker, she found her way higher up the craggy slopes of the Northern mountain. The need to reach the part where life clung to tiny gaps in seas of rock and stone pulled her along.

Her flexible toes dug into the smallest fissures as she climbed the steep slope, keeping her grounded while the wind played with her long, straight hair, growing wilder by the minute.

When the clouds split and hurled tiny ice crystals toward the ground, she stopped and put her head back to look up at the whirling, coiling mass. With a happy sigh she reached for the star shaped wonders.

One snowflake settled on the palm of her left hand like an icy kiss while others condensed around her into a gown she hadn’t worn for way too long. She hadn’t expected a welcome like this. A tear, driven by nostalgia, formed on her cheek, freezing before it could roll over her skin. She wiped it away. It felt good to be home.

Buffeted by winds gusting from every side and surrounded by a cloud of snowflakes, she found the perfect spot. Snow drifted gently over a flat granite the size of Nick’s bed surrounded by boulders that kept the howling of the winds at bay just enough that a newborn wouldn’t be scared by it. She sat down on the coarse stone, arranging the snow in soft pillows and blankets around her.

As the snow reached the humans she’d left behind, the villagers’ fear rode on the winds and filled her with pain, joining the first pangs of labor. The snowstorm filled her and her world – the perfect weather for the birth of her daughter.

______________________________

I hope you liked this story. If you did, check out my books. Also, have a look at these wonderful stories by my fellow writers:

The Letter, by Juneta Key
Trick or Treacle, by Angela Wooldridge
Sugar in the Raw, by Karen Lynn
Inferno, by Fanni Soto
Tae, by Barbara Lund
Interstellar Student Exchange, by Raven O’Fiernan
The Ghost Fighter, by Bill Bush
Hare, by Elizabeth McCleary
The Widow, by Vanessa Wells

17 thoughts on “Bloghop April 2018”

  1. Raven says:

    Lovely! I can’t wait to see what else you come up for it.

  2. Bill says:

    I agree with everyone else – a beautiful story longing to be expanded.

    1. Cat says:

      I’m glad you liked it, and I’m planning on expanding it.

  3. Barbara says:

    A beautiful juxtaposition! Thank you for sharing!

    1. Cat says:

      Glad you liked it.

  4. J.Q. Rose says:

    Ooh–picturing the cold and bringing a baby into the world–what world? What mom would birth a baby in the snow? So much potential here. So happy you took time from your busy life to share this story.
    JQ Rose

    1. Cat says:

      I got an epiphany today while traveling. This snippet will show up in the final volume of my dragon shifter trilogy. 😀

  5. beautiful – but so many questions!!! 🙂

    1. Cat says:

      You’re right. It feels like a beginning to me. 😀

  6. Karen Lynn says:

    It seems like there should be more to this one somewhere. Incredibly atmospheric, but there are so many questions left over!

    1. Cat says:

      I agree completely and think I’ll turn this into a short story or novella or maybe even a novel. It’s just a gem that came to me on short notice.

  7. Vanessa says:

    As always, love your work. I hope life settles down soon.

    1. Cat says:

      Thanks, I hope so too.

  8. Juneta says:

    Too funny, Fanni said what I thought. It was very atmospheric. You created a very beautiful scene in the mind’s eye. The contrast of snow, cold and birth was interesting adding to the overall atmosphere of the piece. Nicely done.

    1. Cat says:

      I might turn this into the prologue of a longer story. 😀

  9. Fanni S says:

    Very atmospheric, a nice snowy read for such a hot day.

    1. Cat says:

      Thanks. I’m glad you liked it.

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